Owner: simplemindedpreacher URL:www.simplemindedpreacher.wordpress.com Join Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:34:34 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: identity, vision and purpose for a new generation of Calvary Chapel Pastors Site statistics:Click here
Tolerance Without Compromise 2007-03-12 19:02:56 People say that Christians are not tolerant. I can understand where that judgment comes from. After seeing the Wrong Revered Phelps on TV a few times with his “God Hates Fags” placards.. anyone could easily come to a similar conclusion.
Most of us, however, think not too kindly about the Phelps agenda. In fact, most cry out in despair not wanting to be identified with that representation.
So, where does that leave us? How do we draw the line between tolerance and compromise? Can we easily discern the difference? Can we reach out in love to those who live in a manner that we reckon to be wrong? Can we open our church doors to gothic types and transvestites? Does our welcoming arms of tolerance also constitute as being a compromise?
I personally think, that we should be more tolerant than anybody. We should be able to put up with, and allow people who are lost and w/o Jesus to live as those who are lost and without Jesus.. Tolerating someone does not mean that you Read more:Tolerance
, Compromise
Thought Provoking Quote… 2007-03-13 22:24:11 The following is a quote that I received in my email yesterday from a friend of mine. I found it thought provoking.
I have often thought that if we could bring together the scriptural adherence of the conservative denominations, the love and compassion of the liberal denominations and the spirituality of the Pentecostal denominations, now that would be church! But how can it be done? How do you take all of the positive qualities of each of those movements and leave the negative ones behind. They just seem to travel together. I even think that this is sort of what Chuck Smith had in mind when he started Calvary Chapel. Tell me Shaun, HoW, hOW, HOw!?!?
Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves&hellip
;or not.
Read more:Provoking
, Quote
Gleaning Through Re-Evaluation 2007-03-16 21:45:46 After the combines comb through the beautiful corn fields of Iowa… inevitably, there’s something left. There are corners.. that these massive harvesting devices do not reach well. there are renegade plants that spring up out of formation. Often times.. there is still harvest-worthy corn out there.. that either gets missed, or simply “ran over”.
When all the work is done.. the beautiful corn fields of Iowa.. are no longer beautiful. Also.. the effort to go and find a straggling ear of corn is less than desirable.
Maybe it’s fine to leave those ears of corn out there. It’s just not worth the time and the energy. However.. let’s think in ministry terms.
As a Calvary Chapel Pastor.. I am driving my my way through the beautiful fields of our distinctive ministry style. (more…)
Read more:Evaluation
which is greater…the office or the man? 2007-03-20 04:24:11 I recently taught at a pastor’s conference out of the country. During the conference one of the speakers, a cc pastor, said “the office
of a pastor is greater
than the man.”
I am going to wait to give you my opinion about this statement&hellip
;
I would like to hear what you guys think though…
Thoughts on teaching the Bible 2007-03-21 19:48:03 Hey guys…I found this article on a cc pastor’s myspace blog…
I think this really hits the nail on the head of what effective Bible teaching is all about…
“Recently I have been giving considerable thought to this thing called Bible Teaching. Since it is what I do I am always interested to hear others teach the Word, and everytime I do I come away challenged either by the Word that was taught , or by the way it was taught…………………………………… This brings me to my current thoughts, in my opinion good Bible teaching is always very easy to recognize, and unfortunately so is not so good Bible teaching. I have been teaching the Bible at least weekly for 19 years to high schoolers, and adults primarily. In that time I have delivered some really bad study’s maybe if you know me you have one, or two in mind…………………&helli
Radio ministry effectiveness 2007-03-23 19:32:51 No question that a radio ministry can be/is an effective tool. I’m wondering, for those of you that do have them, in what ways is it being effective for you, and is it worth it? Was it more worth it in the past and now not so much?
(more…)
Read more:Radio
, effectiveness
Speechless Response To The Critical 2007-03-24 16:24:27 Okay.. so we’ve tried to look deeply into the honest criticisms that have come our way. There are definitely things to learn when an element of truth exists..  But.. what about when.. there is no element of truth? I read Bob Franquiz’s post on criticism.. and started thinking about some of the slander that has floated my way over the years.. Not the real stuff.. just the stuff that leaves you dumbfounded and speechless..
Here’s a few of my favorites..
High education is important to people in this town. If you want to have an effective ministry, you need to go back to college and get your phd. Come back when you’re properly educated. (dropped by a person as they were leaving our fellowship)
You’re not a real church until you own your own building. (one of the most educated pastors in town said this)
God is going to take your grandchildren from you if you continue to go to that church. (told to a guy in our fellowship by his Pentecostal pa Read more:Speechless
, Response
I Got Robbed! 2007-03-26 04:10:15 I’m going to hijack the blog for a personal issue, if y’all don’t mind. Today, while we were all at church, my home had a visitor. From his box, my dog Dominick saw and barked at the intruder. He’s a witness… but, not a very good one.
They didn’t rifle through the house dumping drawers and digging through stuff. They went into the back of my walk in closet, and found 7 rifles that were in cases behind my wife’s clothes. They picked up a dell laptop from the counter, took $23 cash from one of my daughters, grabbed a few power-tools from the shed, and went on their merry way.
I really want one thing back. It’s a Winchester Model 94 30/30. It was my Step-dad’s first gun. He’s a gunsmith.. guns are his life.. and he gave me his first gun. Now some addict is probably looking to pawn it for next to nothing come Monday morning.. If anything is a family heirloom to us.. it’s that 30 30.
I’m bummed.
To Grow or Not to Grow, That is the Question… 2007-03-28 04:00:46 Well that seems like a pretty silly question. I mean if you look at the book of Acts you can clearly see that the church grew daily as more people were saved. But, how do you deal with the growth? Where do you stack the babies? Where do you get the money to build?
All these questions ran through my mind today as I sat through a meeting with a consulting company we are thinking about hiring to deal with our growth problem (then I thought hey, I bet I could get free advice from the smp blog).
The simple fact is, no matter what size your church is you will eventually have to answer these questions if you grow.
(more&hellip
;)
Read more:Question
So you don’t want to go to church anymore 2007-03-29 18:15:22 My wife has been reading this book online, the title of which is the title of this post. It’s a fiction book that is undoubtedly based on real events. The way she describes it makes it sound like a lot of the things we have been discussing here on SMP concerning how to do church, how to walk the walk, how to get our faith outside the brick walls. I plan to start reading it next week. It’s too close to Sunday for me to jump into it today.
Sounds like its worth a read to me. Anyone care to read and discuss?
Here is the link.
LOST 2007-03-30 14:01:21 No, not the tv program. (I love LOST btw).. I’m not talking about people lost on an Island, I’m talking about a domain lost on some server in Germany.
Without warning, the main domain for our church expired two days ago. All of a sudden, the website was gone. Of course, I tried and tried to figure out how to renew it, but the folks at 1and1 (by the way.. DON’T USE 1&1) won’t give me any answers. I’ve registered a couple new domains with my current web-host, but you know how it is when most folks know you by your old domain???
Here’s my biggest beef. I am swamped. I am speaking at a men’s retreat for CC Fredricksburg this weekend. Sunday morning, I’m leaving the retreat center and driving 1 1/2 hours back to my fellowship to deliver the Palm Sunday message.. (which, by the way, is going to be on “false expectations of Christ”.. -that’s not written yet either).. Immediately after the service, I’m climbing
Stop the Renegade 2007-04-02 13:42:31 Over the last several weeks, I’ve been working on rewriting our by-laws, and it’s been quite the task. With all the talk recently, about how easy it is in our style of government, for the leader to take over, I thought the by-laws should be written in such a way to prevent that. My thought has been if the Lord ever moves me on, or something should happen to me, I want the body protected against abuse. That sure sounds nice and it is a great thought, the only problem is, I started to notice, that my stop the renegade plan, was turning into a potential, stop the Holy Spirit plan.
I realize that if you have the wrong man in place, he can, and probably will, work his way around, pretty much anything you put in place. The right man in place, the one God has called, and given vision to, shouldn’t have to buck and fight, to get anything accomplished for the kingdom. I spent seven and a half years in the Navy, and I feel like I’ve already played that Read more:Renegade
Makin it Simple.. 2007-04-09 04:08:14 I’ve been struggling for some time with the way we “do” church. On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with it. We have a lot of good stuff going on.. all with the intent and focus of: discipling, teaching, encouraging and equipping the body. We also have a good solid core of leadership.
Here’s my problem. In the areas of ministry and leadership.. we are not very “defined”. Most of these ministries operate independently and most of our leadership is not totally sure that they are leadership. For the longest time, I’ve been brainstorming the situation over and over in my head. I know that I need to define some things with my leadership, and I know that I need to define some things to create a common focus and directive for our ministries.
While discussing my quandary with a friend.. I was encouraged to read a book called “Simple
Church”.. - it’s helping, and I’m only about 1/2 way through it. It’ Read more:Makin
Do We Wear Blinders? 2007-04-17 18:48:34 I’m talking about those things they put on horses. With the blinders on, the horse is only able to see what is directly in front of him, thus dismissing the chance of unwanted distractions from the side.
Face it, if you’re brought up in a: culture, sub-culture or a sub-sect culture, you will acquire a certain way of thinking which has a leaning towards specific philosophies and an opposition towards others. Chances are, our cultural experiences leave us blinded from the mere existence of some: ideas, objects and philosophies.
(more…)
Where Does Evil Dwell? 2007-04-19 19:46:46 Here is an article I wrote for our local paper… (more…)
Read more:Dwell
A New Look… 2007-04-18 17:44:40 I’ve been looking for a good theme w/3 sidebars. I like to see all the side-bar stuff w/out scrolling way down. There’s nothing symbolic about the bus.. I just think it’s a cool pic. I took it up on Arbel Mountain in Israel. A tour group hiked up the mountain and returned to find that their bus has burned.
However, if you do feel like there is something symbolic about the bus, then please, feel free to make your comments.
Read more:hellip
Help me the Bones are Dry and Brittle 2007-04-20 05:44:37
What constitutes outreach? How does one reach out? Does it have to be an in your face approach, or is a kinder gentler approach the way to go? Is it servant evangelism that works, or just straight forward I’m going to tell it like it is, “repent or go to hell.”
To be honest I have my opinions but I’m not so sure they fit with 1st Corinthians 12 where the Amplified says there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but it is the same Lord. And there are distinctive varieties of operation of working to accomplish things, but the same God who inspires and energizes them all in all. After nine years as a senior pastor I’m coming to the place where I have to ask is this all there is? This just can’t be it, Lord we need you to breath life into these old dry bones.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m watching people grow in their walks, but I think maybe there is a stunted growth, where are the sheep begetting sheep? Where is the burden for the lost, the Read more:Bones
Who needs the Gospel? Everyone. Even Christians. 2007-04-23 21:11:30 About a year ago I wrote a post in my personal blog that I think would be good fodder for discussion here as it has to do with how we do ministry. A year later I find myself again about to teach Acts chapter 2 at a different church than a year ago. It has to do with what I believe is a need to evangelize those who claim to be Christians
. I’m not talking about trying to market yourself to other Christians in order to steal sheep and make your church bigger. I’m talking about how there are many in our communities who go to church somewhere but don’t have a relationshi with Jesus and they will probably never experience one at their church. This concept is partly why I think it’s important to define who you are, what you believe, why you believe it, where you came from, because this is stuff other “Christians” will be curious about as they consider coming to your church. It isn’t THE most important thing, but it is an important thing. So, here goes Read more:Gospel
Re-Think Tank part (whatever) - What is communion? 2007-04-27 01:16:55 As some of you know I’ve been writing a series of handouts for our church, trying to get them to re-think some things. It’s easy to get complacent, to let traditions and “that’s the way we’ve always done it” set in. Recently I decided to change communion from every week to once a month and have it coincide with our alredy monthly Family Dinner. Being the new guy I had a fresh pair of eyes. We had been doing it every week. It was a ritual. It was almost a social time the way they had been doing it. So, I changed it to shake things up a bit and to get them to think about why we do it, what it is, all of that. To add to it I wrote up this handout. I’ve been thinking a lot about communion for a while and have loads more to discuss than whats in this flyer. Maybe those things will come up as well. But for now, here is the blurb I wrote up.
(more…)
Read more:whatever
, Think Tank
pastor points. 2007-04-25 16:48:56 (this post might come off as being cynical, but, in the end it addresses something that I think is a real quandary in the ministry.. one that I’d love to discuss. )
here’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time. “pastor points!
It’s a pretty simple concept. Many pastors and parishioners alike subscribe to the usage of pastor points without even realizing it. Parishioners are keeping score of their pastor’s actions.. especially those that are focused upon them personally. Pastors are working to earn points with parishioners, and possibly, they are working to loose points with others. (more…)
Holy Spirit Anyone? 2007-04-30 14:13:30 So, is there a difference between:
The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit?
The Baptism With The Holy Spirit?
Personally, I think there is. Of and With communicate two different things, and I believe they are both Biblical experiences.
……….what do you think? (I’ll share more later.. I have to take my son to work in a minute)
How about the gifts? Are the gifts from Romans 12 of a different nature than the gifts from I Cor 12:1-11? How about the gifts/offices listed in Ephesians 4? Are they all just “one kind” of gift, or are they different in nature?
…………I think each book (I Cor, Romans, Eph.) are talking about different things.. (I’ll expound.. but I have stuff to do now.. and homeschool)
What is the connection between: Being filled with the H.S. and the gifts?
How about a little input from a “gifts not for today” person.. w/some Biblical reasoning. I’d love to hear how you conclude tha Read more:Anyone
I’m not being fed anymore! 2007-05-04 18:36:45 If you’ve been pastoring for anytime at all you’ve undoubtedly heard this popular phrase…or some variation of it.
(more…)
Ecclesiastes 12:10, 11 2007-05-09 20:21:19 Indeed, the Teacher taught the plain truth, and he did so in an interesting way. A wise teacher’s words spur students to action and emphasize important truths. The collected sayings of the wise are like guidance from a shepherd.
I’m intrigued by the underlined part of vs. 10. I’ve always felt that there is a difference between “speaking the truth” and “communicating the truth”.
So, what does it mean to teach plain truth in an interesting way? What is “un-plain” truth? What is a “non-interesting” way?
Technorati Tags: preaching, pastor, bible, ministry
What Is Worldly? 2007-05-08 16:25:02 One of the Shawn”s (Sean, Shaun, Shawn.. c’mon, pick a spelling already).. made a comment on the previous thread that led me to this thought. He had a guy who left the church he’s part of, because they showed a movie at a church event.
The man’s argument was: Movies = Worldly TV = Worldly (more…)
SMP06’s Notes On the Bill Ritchie Message 2007-05-10 23:53:23 Keep in mind this was not how to do a study, simply things to keep in mind as you prepare a study.
Putting together a study:1. Have an idea of what you are trying to do.
- What order are you going to teach the books?
- Are you going to do topicals between books? (more…)
Read more:Notes
, Ritchie
, Message
Nuts And Bolts Play By Play from SMP6 2007-05-10 22:33:13 I am at the Rocky Mountain Pastors Conference this week, and thought you or some of the others would enjoy a play by play of sorts. I am still fasting from the internet, so no blogging, but you can post these if you think someone may enjoy them.
Day #1
Intro - Chuck Smith via internet: (more…)
Read more:Bolts
Wow!! Falwell??? 2007-05-15 21:18:57                 Jerry is with Jesus.. right now!!!
I’ve always loved this guy… He had radical views that I sometimes cringed about… He preached on Sunday morning from the Living Bible.. He got himself caught up in politics more often than necessary.. but, I still love Jerry Falwell
..
He was never busted for taking pics of prostitutes..
He never had an affair with a secretary.. (more…)
Why drink wine when there’s Mtn. Dew? 2007-05-14 20:00:59 Ignore the title, it’s just a stupid way of, nevermind. I realize that I run a certain risk (of exblogination) in posting this, but I live on the scabby bandaged edge, at least online. In person I’m a major wimp. Over on the blog-of-which-we-do-not-speak, he-who-must-not-be-named (it’s a joke people) has written what is to me a very compelling post. I’d like to say up front that what is of interest is the post and not the comments that follow. The comments can easily turn into something that totally derails the post, so I ask that if you decide to go read and discuss here, please ignore the comments and stick to what was presented.
Here is the link. http://phoenixpreacher.com/?p=1729
(more…)
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